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LANSING – Today, defendants Shawn Wilmoth, of Warren, and Willie Reed, of Pompano Beach, Florida, were convicted by a Macomb County jury of conducting a criminal enterprise to defraud the gubernatorial campaigns of Ryan Kelley, Perry Johnson, James Craig, Donna Brandenburg, Michael Brown, and Michael Markey, as well as judicial candidates Tricia Dare, John Cahalan, and John Michael Malone in the 2022 election cycle, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
The candidates contracted, directly or through intermediary consultants, with businesses owned and operated by Shawn Wilmoth and Willie Reed for the fulfillment of their nomination signature requirements to appear on the August 2022 primary ballots. The defendants charged the campaigns over $700,000 for valid signature collection, then knowingly delivered tens of thousands of forged signatures on nomination petitions to eight of the campaigns. Seven of the candidates provided with fraudulent signatures failed to meet the signature requirements to qualify for appearing on the ballot, one candidate withdrew without submitting signatures for review. The defendants provided the Kelley campaign with no signatures at all.
“The fraud perpetrated by the defendants robbed eight candidates of their chance to appear on the ballot, defrauded their campaigns and denied millions of Michiganders a choice in the 2022 gubernatorial election,” said Attorney General Dana Nessel. “I am proud of the diligent work my office and the Department of State has done to secure this conviction. We will continue to investigate and prosecute instances of election fraud to protect our democratic process.”
The defendants were found guilty of the following:
Shawn Wilmoth, owner/operator of First Choice LLC and co-owner of Mack Douglas LLC:
- 1 count, Conducting a Criminal Enterprise, a 20-year felony,
- 2 counts, False Pretenses, $100,000 or more, a 20-year felony,
- 2 counts, False Pretenses, $50,000 or more, a 15-year felony,
- 3 counts, False Pretenses, $25,000 or more, a 15-year felony,
- 7 counts, Use of a Computer to Commit a Crime, $20,000 or more, a 10-year felony, and
- 7 counts, Election Law Forgery, a 5-year felony.
Willie Reed, owner/operator of Petitions Reed LLC and co-owner of Mack Douglas LLC:
- 1 count, Conducting a Criminal Enterprise, a 20-year felony,
- 2 counts, False Pretenses, $100,000 or more, a 20-year felony,
- 1 count, False Pretenses, $25,000 or more, a 15-year felony,
- 3 counts, Use of a Computer to Commit a Crime, $20,000 or more, a 10-year felony,
- 3 counts, Election Law Forgery, a 5-year felony,
- 1 count, Use of a Computer to Commit a Crime, $1,000 or more but less than $20,000, a 5-year felony, and
- 1 count, Larceny by Conversion, $1,000 or more but less than $20,000, a 5-year felony.
The forgeries were quickly detected by the Michigan Bureau of Elections, within the Department of State, which determined the seven campaigns of Johnson, Craig, Brandenburg, Brown, Markey, Dare, and Malone had not met the qualifications to appear on the 2022 primary ballot. The Department of State then referred the matter to the Department of Attorney General for investigation in June of 2022. Attorney General Nessel charged the defendants in September 2023.
Jamie Wilmoth-Goodin, of Warren, was found not guilty.
The defendants will be sentenced by Judge James Maceroni in the 16th Circuit Court in Macomb County on March 18.
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